Pay and dismay! The seaside parking spaces that could be all yours (if you've got a staggering £50,000 to spare)

A trip to the seaside can sometimes be hampered by finding that perfect parking space.

But fear no more.

Because that ideal spot by the beach can now be yours forever - and all for just £50,000.

Pricey: Three of the spaces sold individually for £55,000, £56,000 and £50,000. The remaining pair attracted bids of £50,000 each but failed to make the reserve price and will now be sold by private negotiation

The princely sum has been earmarked
for five car parking spaces in the Cornish seaside town of St Ives - as
they go up for auction this month.

The
price of the spaces, which is around 30 seconds walking distance from
the centre of the popular beach fronted town, is more than twice the
average £22,000 a year wage in the county.

Expensive: Bradleys Estate Agents brochure detailing the five parking spaces for sale in St. Ives

And in a time of austerity the move has less than impressed everyone in the area.

Speaking about the lots, town councillor Andrew Mitchell said: 'It sticks in the throat of local people.

'It
shows the mismatch in St Ives and many other Cornish villages and towns
between the local population on low wages and seasonal jobs and second
home owners.

'It is ridiculous that many of those that live here can't afford a home. They can't even afford one of these parking spaces.'

The spaces are on sale courtesy of
estate agent Bradleys and employee Sam Peters said they have already
turned down offers of £100,000 for two as they go ahead with an auction.

He said: 'We have got about 60 people who are interested. There is simply not enough parking capacity in the town for the number of people that are here.

'And there are plenty of people prepared to pay these kind of prices. If a house has a parking space in St Ives the value shoots up, so the spaces will pay for themselves.'

The guide price of each space in Barnoon Terrace comes three months after another space was bought for £55,000 in the town.

Located on Tregenna Hill, it is thought to have been sold to a second home owner in desperate need for an additional space in town.

And that was not the first space to go up for sale.

Not much for your money: The parking space which went for an astonishing £55,000 a few months ago

Popular: St Ives Town, bay and harbour in Cornwall is a popular holiday resort and always attracts interest from people wanting a second home

Two years ago, another parking space in the town went for a whopping £60,000 and one three years before that sold for a comparatively meagre £24,000.